(743f) Investigating Graphene Oxide and Holey Graphene Oxide Membrane Properties for Water Purification

Freshwater availability for human consumption has declined in recent years due to a shifting hydrosphere as well as increased irrigation, leaving 1 in 4 people to live in water stressed regions. Reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants combat this decline, but the high pressures required equate to high energy costs, stifling widespread adoption. Graphene oxide (GO) membranes have emerged to be an effective alternative to RO membranes due to their unique layered architecture. They have been shown to effectively reject ions while maintaining high flux at substantially reduced pressures. This study seeks to improve upon reported GO membranes with a different membrane architecture: a GO membrane with holes grown throughout its matrix. These holes should anoint holey graphene oxide (hGO) membranes with reduced path-lengths for water molecules, enabling them to traverse the membrane faster and increasing flux while also maintaining the characteristic layered architecture to keep ion rejection high. To that end, we hypothesize that hGO membranes will have increased water flux and equal ion rejection relative to GO membranes. Additionally, aging tests were performed on membranes to determine whether the addition of holes decreased the mechanical stability of hGO membranes. Preliminary experimental results from this study is presented and discussed.